The last of his kind
by superlegend
Summary: Ratchet and Clank stumble upon the last human in the galaxy. A strong friendship is formed as they help him through the horrors of his past - They realize that brotherhood isn't bound by ones differences.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys. This is the first fanfiction I have written so far. Please take the time to review my story, and tell me what you think. Enjoy!**

Chapter 1

He has been through more than hell all his life - always on the run, rejected by everyone, his species being almost extinct… and yet, he always felt that the pain and suffering was going to end, hoping that days of peace would finally arrive for him, hoping that he would finally be free from the hell that slowly made him decay into nothingness.

But now he felt differently.

The wind blew hard against his body, sending a cold shiver down his spine. The human narrowed his eyes against the blinding sun in an effort to prevent sand from blowing into his eyes. The sun beat down on his skin, burning him as he tried to keep his gaze on the ships that was about to make contact. Even though the sun blinded him and the sand stung his eyes, he did not dare to move his eyes from the ships.

He could not. The last of his kind was about to crash into the enemy ship.

Clouds of fire engulfed the sky as the ships made contact. He could hear the noise as the two ships connected and felt a slight shock pushing him backwards. Tears filled his soft, sharp blue eyes. He wanted to feel the pain, to honour them by grieving their deaths, but he felt nothing - instead, his heart cloaked itself, numbing him against pain. It was too much to for his body to bear.

He thought of the crash – maybe he should go check to see what he can scavenge. But what would he find? He could only imagine.

"The enemy has finally won" he thought, feeling as if he is being engulfed by an endless storm. The enemy, being a Zoni, with armies of robots doing his bidding, has sought to kill them for many years. One by one they were murdered, until only he and the old couple were left. He thought of the other teenagers – Peter, Jack and Mary. Was it really just a few days ago that they died?

He remembered how this day started typically - everybody rushed out of bed to see why the alarms went off, quickly trying to get ready for another day as they gazed not-so-surprised at the enemy ship that pursued them. But because the trio - Daniel and his wife, Annabelle, along with his nephew, Michaelangelo - were the last ones left, and being chased by the Zoni boy himself, things turned out differently. Fear gripped their hearts when they realized that the Zoni himself was on their tails.

Everybody was on high alert. Michaelangelo could feel the adrenaline pump through his veins, making his body shake.

"Ann, take control of the ship. Michaelangelo, make sure all exits are secure while I get the weapons!" Daniel ordered, moving quickly. Michaelangelo thought how this could be his last day, of how close he was to death - he knew that they had little ammunition left.

Having secured the exits, Michaelangelo rushed to the cockpit to see what was happening. "Maybe we should warp to one of the nearest planets. There might be some sort of military force that can scare them away." he suggested as fear still clawed at his heart.

Annabelle agreed, switching to warp mode. Peter entered the room, quickly putting on his suit. "I will try to blast them off our trails. You guys try to fly us to safety!"

But nothing they tried worked. They ended up circling a strange, desert-like planet as the ship gained on them. The Zoni and his warships fired wildly on them. Daniel shot back, successfully eliminating some of the warships.

But it was not enough.

They just could not escape - the enemy ship was too fast and too powerful. They did not know what to do – if they stop to fight, they die. If they try to get away, they die. Either way, they would have died.

But, of course, survival was possible. Even though the sacrifice for it was not what Michaelangelo wanted.

Daniel and Annabelle made the biggest decision of their lives. They pushed Michaelangelo out of the ship at the last minute, sacrificing their own lives for his. Then they made a sharp turn - he watched as the burning ships slowly made their trek towards the ground. He felt how his heart was being shredded to pieces, shaking as he watched the last of his kind die.

Now he is all alone

And he has no idea where he is.

…..

Ratchet felt he needed some air –it has been a while since he got out of the house, and he always enjoyed going for a walk. How could he not enjoy the beauty of this planet? Veldin – his home for most of his life. With its tall sand-pillars, specs of plants here and there, and a wide variety of species, this was quite an interesting planet.

And a hot one.

The golden Lombax greatly envied Grim's workshop, the "garage" as they call it - after all, he had many wonderful memories connected to that place. Grim, the caring father that took him in when he was a baby, abandoned with no name and no notes when Grim found him; that faithful night he met Clank, saving the tiny robot from the crashed ship before it exploded; becoming a Galactic Ranger… Sure, there were bad memories and bad times too, but that does not make Veldin any less wonderful.

He enjoyed planet Veldin the most - of all the places open to him, he chose this one. It may be one of the least populated, hottest and the most barren planets he knew, but his heart always stayed here - maybe because it is so peaceful, or because he had many wonderful memories there. Either way, he just loved being there.

An explosion nearby made him take cover behind a sand-pillar as he closely studied the clouds of fire in the sky. Once he was sure that the coast was clear, he decided to check and see if any of the citizens got hurt.

That's when he saw him.

He did not recognize the species that stood before him immediately - at first he thought he was like Captain Qwark.

But Captain Qwark did not have five fingers. And he was way taller and bigger than this stranger.

He carefully approached him, not knowing what to expect. He studied his face closely - cuts and bruises decorated his face; brown fur only on top of his head and on the bottom of his face, his skin a very pale orange…. The creature looked rattled as he watched the crash - he must have known someone in one of those ships.

Ratchet saw a piece of metal falling towards the being with an incredible speed. Before he could move a muscle, the creature was already lying unconscious on the ground.

Ratchet rushed to his side. He tried to remove the metal piece but ended up hopping around, holding his hand. The metal wasextremely hot.

He gave it a quick shove, finally getting it out of the way. When he tried to pick the boy up (he seemed to be very young), the realization hit him: he is human! He doesn't know much of them, except that they were practically extinct, just like the Lombaxes. He also knows that a decade-old war has been waged between a family of Zoni and the remaining humans. That is probably why one of those ships looked like it belonged to a Zoni. He never understood how a species as kind and gentle as the Zoni decided to wage war. That was just so unlike them.

Ratchet tried to carry the boy, but he realised that it would take too long. The boy didn't look seriously injured, but you never know – what if he has internal bleeding? Brain damage? The risk was just too big – he decided to contact Clank instead, hoping that that would be a better solution.

Soon Clank arrived with medical assistance. The doctor quickly studied his patient.

"Everything seems normal. No broken bones," he moves to the other side of the boy, listening to his heart rate through a stethoscope, "Heart rate seems to be normal."

The doctor stands up, butting his stethoscope away. "He is lucky that he survived the collision with no serious injury. He has nothing more than a concussion and some minor burns. Does he live nearby?"

Ratchet shakes his head. "No. But we will take him to our home and see if we can help him."

"Yes, especially now that he is one of the last humans left," Clank said.

Ratchet did not know what to expect from all of this, but he had a nagging feeling that this human's future was intertwined with his.


	2. Chapter 2

**(Chapter 1 has been improved a little. Enjoy!)**

Chapter 2

He woke up, his head hurting like hell. He did not immediately realize that he was in a strange place- a quick survey of his surroundings showed that he was sitting in a garage.

He sat up, stretching his limbs- he felt like he had slept for days. He did not realize he had bandages on his head until he brought his hand to the throbbing area. At that moment, Ratchet and Clank entered the room, deep in conversation. He never saw a creature like Ratchet before- golden fur with brown stripes decorating his body, or a robot as small as Clank. This made him chuckle a bit.

"Finally, you're awake!" Ratchet exclaimed, with a grin on his face.

Clank moved closer to examine his wounds. "How do you feel? You had a terrible accident".

"I feel fine; my head just hurts like hell".

Clank started to change all his bandages as the two of them sat on the bed. He was stunned by the hospitality of these strangers- to tell the truth, no one ever took care of him the way they did before.

That is why he saw it as a rare luxury.

Finally, he broke the silence, "Whatare your names?"

"I'm Ratchet, and the tin canover there is Clank." Clank glared at Ratchet from behind his head as the two of them laughed. "My name is Michaelangelo…"

Due to the fact that he was rejected by most people, he never learnt advanced socializing skills. That is why he started to panic, frantically trying to find something suitable to say.

"Thank you for helping me like this…" was all he could say.

"No problem". Ratchet moved and sat on his other side while Clank moved on to the bandages on his legs (His legs suffered the most).

"I saw you staring at the ships as they crashed. Do you know anything about that?"

A bump formed in Michaelangelo's throat. Swallowing the bump and the tears that wanted to form in his eyes, he answered, "In one of those ships were the last humans, other than me. They crashed into the zoni that hunted us for more than a decade".

Ratchet could not believe his ears. "How did you survive?"

"I was pushed out at the last minute. The old man and his wife found my life more valuable than theirs".

I cleared my throat before continuing, "There were other humans, about my age, but they died trying to sneak up on the zoni. That was a stupid idea".

"But surely there must be other humans in the galaxy!" Ratchet exclaimed, still being shocked.

Michaelangelo looked sheepishly at him. "We were constantly aware of each and every human, as well as where they were located. I am really the last human alive".

Clank realized that Michaelangelo probably didn't have anywhere else to go. "What will you do, being the last of your kind?" he asked as he wrapped the final bandage around his left arm.

Michaelangelo thought about this before answering, "Well, as a sixteen year old, there is not much I can do. I guess I would try to find a job, but that might be hard since I do not have a proper education".

"Maybe you should stay with us" Ratchet said, realizing the same thing Clank did.

Michaelangelo immediately rebelled against this. He did not want to be someone else's burden, just like he has been treated all his life. "I can't. I would probably be in your way. Besides, I cannot expect this from you, as you have already done so much for me".

"Nonsense! I think it would be nice to have you around" Clank said. "Besides, you have nowhere else to go".

"People from my species are also practically extinct. I grew up being alone, except for the mechanic that raised me. It would be hell for you to be alone. You should let us help you- unless you want to die of thirst and hunger in the desert" Ratchet added.

Michaelangelo knew they were right.

He reluctantly gave in. "I guess you are right."

He stood up, limping, as he asked, "Were there any survivors?"

"No, we searched the crash site- not even the zoni survived" Clank answered, sympathetically staring at him.

Even though he was supposed to be happy that his enemy was finally destroyed, he could not find it in him to be happy. Instead, darkness clouded him, robbing him of any sunlight that could reach him.

…

It took Michaelangelo a while to get used to his new surroundings. The fact that he had to sleep on the couch since there was only one room did not bother him. He was just not used to the peace that surrounded him- he always had to live in fear, anger and loneliness.

He also had trouble having successful conversation. Being a quick learner he did, however, quickly learn to laugh and joke the way they did.

His hell did end, after all.

But the pain still stuck with him, even though he was not aware of it.

Ratchet was sitting outside, gazing at the stars, when Clank joined him.

"The boy seemed to have endured a lot of pain throughout his life "Clank said, sitting beside him.

"I know" Ratchet replied, still gazing at the stars.

"You have been through hell yourself, growing up with no one else but the mechanic that took you in, having lost me to the Great Clock, and not even to mention the loneliness you had to endure. But I keep thinking that he has been through a lot worse than that"

"I agree- I keep thinking the same thing". Both of them knew by now that Michaelangelo needed someone, badly.

And both of them decided to be that someone.

 **What do you think? What part of this story is the most gripping? What do you think should happen next? Review, share, favorite, follow?**


	3. Chapter 3

**(Chapter 2 has been improved a little. Read and enjoy!)**

It has been a while since Michaelangelo moved in with Ratchet and Clank. He was surprised at how successful their friendship has been- he expected to be rejected, just like his own kind did. Well, most of them anyway.

He did well in hiding his pain and suffering from them- even though his past haunted him around every corner. He did not want to burden them with his pain, did not want to risk losing the only friends he had. He already felt bad for staying with them without paying. But he did try to make it up- he cooked whenever he could, cleaned, and gave his help with whatever he could. But it never felt like enough.

He did not always succeed in hiding his pains, though.

One night, he had a terrible dream- he dreamt that Ratchet and Clank got annihilated in front of his eyes. He tried to save them in his dreams, but he was unable to stop the death that conquered their bodies. Clank was there at that moment, hearing the sobs that escaped his mouth.

"Michaelangelo, are you ok?" Clank asked, full of concern.

But he was surprisingly asleep, even though the tears swam down his cheeks.

Clank was fascinated by this human- he did not have a tail or the kind of ears he needed to show his emotions. Instead, his eyes and mouth did the main job of expressing his feelings. He quickly learnt how to read his emotions, even though he put up a mask to hide it.

Just like Ratchet did.

He shook Michaelangelo's arm slightly, whispering for him to wake up.

At first his eyes opened slowly, the shadow of the dream still over his head. But then he jumped off the couch, grabbing Clank and pulling him quickly into an embrace. "I thought you were dead!" He exclaimed, hugging Clank closely. "Are you ok? Did you receive any damage?" he asked, frantically scanning Clank's body for any signs of damage.

"I'm fine" he said, rubbing Michaelangelo on the arm. This reaction surprised him, but he did not mind it at all. His friend needed the comfort.

For a while they stayed in this embrace, Clank continuously rubbing his arm, when Michaelangelo put him down. "I'm sorry for doing that. I just had a nightmare. I won't do it again" he said to Clank, fearing that he might lose them.

"Don't worry, I didn't mind the least" Clank said, smiling. He could not keep thinking of how Michaelangelo always tried not to lose them. It was then that Clank started to realize how lonely Michaelangelo must have been since he grew up. "Tell me what happened".

Although Ratchet and Michaelangelo reacts similarly to their pasts, like the fact that Ratchet also had this kind of dreams before, Clank noted that there were some differences- like the fact that Michaelangelo would explain his nightmares in full detail, whilst Ratchet was vague about the details.

For a moment they sat in front of the couch, talking about the dream.

"I should probably get back to sleep "Michaelangelo said, yawning as he stood up, wiping the last tears away. Clank helped tuck him in- Michaelangelo felt awkward, but he did not stop him. It was nice to know someone cared for him like that, and he did not want to throw his kindness in his face.

Michaelangelo was surprised that he did not wake Ratchet up with his outburst.

The next day he took some money from his life-long savings and went to town to buy some metal polish.

He was lucky enough to find Clank alone at home when he was back. He could not imagine doing this in front of Ratchet.

"Hey buddy" he said to Clank as he sat beside him on the couch. Clank was watching the science channel. "How was your day so far?"

"Pretty good. I had the honor to learn about the human history" he said, pointing to the holovision

Michaelangelo blushed as he tried to find the courage he needed, not being able to find the words. "I, uhm, bought you something, just to say thank you", he said while removing the polish from the bag. "I hope you don't mind if I do this…"

Clank beamed at him as he asked, "You want to polish me?"

"Yeah…"

Clank was both surprised and amused at this act of gratitude. He allowed Michaelangelo to polish him, admiring him for his deep gratitude in life."Go ahead" he said, chuckling.

He did look nice afterwards when he stared at himself in the window. I was then that Clank grew a kind of protectiveness over Michaelangelo, one that Ratchet would only grow later on.

That evening, Ratchet returned from another successful mission. He was surprised to see Clank shining so brightly. "What happened to you? Did you get polished?"

"Yes, Michaelangelo did this for me".

Ratchet made many jokes about this afterwards. But Michaelangelo felt he had to do something for Ratchet too. He bought Ratchet the most expensive weapon he could afford, not even knowing what it was.

…

Ratchet decided to help Michaelangelo out by signing him up for a language-course. He could barely speak any other language than the standard Slovania.

This meant that Michaelangelo had to stay at the garage until the course was finished. He did not mind this at all, but he did feel worried- he had no way of being sure they were safe.

"Don't worry" Ratchet said, punching him slightly on his shoulder. "We'll be fine. We're galactic rangers, Remember?"

"Exactly. You're exposed to huge amounts of danger daily. It's not that I don't trust your ability to protect yourself, I just will not know whether you come out alive or not. That's all."

"We'll be fine" Ratchet repeated, patting him on the back. "We will check in on you every now and the, just to make sure you're ok".

Everything went fine- Michaelangelo got the chance to learn from the books his father wrote- his fatherwas known for his exceptional skill in battle by hand or with non-firearm weapons. Michaelangelo already knew a lot of this, which is why he was able to survive so long. He just felt close to his father when he would aim for perfection, just like he did. Hestill remembered the powerful father and the genius of a mother he had.

He also quickly learned the languages, meaning that he made more progress than the usual student. Ratchet and Clank would visit between missions, making him worry less about their safety. He was constantly assured that they were in perfect shape.

But he was not.

By now he forgot most of his pains- he was so occupied with learning the languages, practicing his combat skills, etc. that he never gave thought to his past. He locked all his pain up deep in his heart, where no one could see it.

But pain is like gas: trying to keep it in a container would only lead to an explosion.

After a month since he stayed at the garage, his past visited him in a dream.

 _"Finally! The idiot is out of our way!" Jack proclaimed as they pulled the trailer._

 _Whenever they would go into combat, they would bring the trailer along- it was used to store backup weapons and to transport all their gatherings after a battle._

 _This time, the "corpse" of Michaelangelo Yoshi joined the tools of destruction._

 _"Now his inheritance is ours, all we have to do is find it" Mary added._

 _Inheritance? Why did he not know anything of this kind?_

 _"Imagine the life we would live. Now all that is left is getting rid of that zoni. He's a real pain in the ass." Peter stopped pulling and asked, "Are you guys sure he's dead?"_

 _"One hundred percent."_

 _He felt unsure, like there was something not right. "Come on, let's go"_

 _He waited until they were right inside the ship before jumping out of the trailer._

 _Of course he could not talk to the old man and his wife about their intentions, because even though they were in charge, Jack was seen as the leader of the humans since his father was. He also had to keep silent, in fear of his and the elder couple's lives. All he could do was rage by himself._

 _He could not even ask what his inheritance was._

He woke up, highly bothered by his dreams. The whole day he tried to distract himself by practicing his weapon forging skills, but it did not work- he alternated from being so angry that he shook like an earthquaketo being depressed and downcast. Eventually it was all too much for him.

He sat on his bed, thinking of all he went through.

Eventually the chains around his heart broke, leaving him sobbing like a child. The more he tried to stop the tears, the more it kept coming. At that moment Ratchet and Clank walked in- Michaelangelo buried his face behind his hands, hoping to hide his tears.

"And did you see the way I kicked those robots' butts? They were completely anhia…" Ratchet broke off at the sight of Michaelangelo, trying to hide his clearly visible tears.

"What happened? Are you ok?" Clank asked as he stepped forward, staring sympathetically at him.

"I…" he tried to explain through all the tears.

Ratchet sat beside him on the bed, pulling his head to his chest. Clank sat on the other side and rubbed his back. Everyone was silent as he silently sobbing, crying tears of healing essence.

He finally broke the silence. "It's about my past…"

This time he told the every detail, from how he had to see his parents die to how Jack, Steve and Mary sought to steal his inheritance that even he did not know of. How he was placed in the most dangerous part of every battle, having been close to death many times while they triedharder every time to get him killed. How he had to see every last of his kind get killed. His heart was pouring like a river.

Ratchet and Clank was shocked- they thought he was through hell whilst it was more.

Much more.

"I always felt so alone. They always treated me like a piece of scrap while all I ever wanted was to be at peace with them".

Ratchet took him by the shoulders as he spoke, "You are not alone anymore. You have us now. I know what you went through was really bad, but we will help you through this".

"And we will make sure you live in peace" Clank added.

Michaelangelo smiled through the tears. "You guys are the best friends I ever had".

 **What did you think? If you could use a song to describe the last part's atmosphere, what would it be? (Mine is "Gavi's song" by Lindsey Stirling). Was everything realistic enough?**

 **Review, favorite, follow?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys! I've been doing a lot of reviews on my previous chapters. Hopefully this chapter is good enough to make up for how long you guys had to wait!**

Chapter 4

Michaelangelo's language courses finally finished. He was proud of his achievements - he even managed to do the best in his class.

He was busy packing when he stumbled upon the black, leathery backpack he managed to keep safe all this time. His heart cried when he saw it - it contained family relics that meant a lot to him. He took it carefully between his hands, opened it slowly and emptied it of all its contents. There were some family pictures - one in which his father and uncle stood, laughing with their hands over each other's necks, caught his attention. He gazed at the picture as he straightened it, a tear falling from his face. He spent a lot of time wishing they were at peace with the Zoni – even if it seemed impossible, wishing that he could save his parents the night they died.

But what could a ten-year old boy do?

He continued emptying the bag- there were some weapons he forged along with his father. The set of throwing knives and the bow and arrows he crafted while his father taught him how to forge weapons, instructing him as he progressed. The set of axes, however, was merely his idea – his father was the one whocrafted it. The idea was to combine nunchucks with axes – resulting in Battle- Axes with removable valerian heads and dark-brown oak handles, adeadly and yet hard-to-master combination of his father's trademark design andMichaelangelo's ideas.

He held the axes to his chest as he bent forward, sitting on the bed. He wished that some of his kind survived, that he was still accompanied by his parents andhis family.

But he accepted the fact that he was alone, even though it , he wasn't reallyalone. He has Ratchet and Clank. The young lombax and the tiny robot that took him in – for the first time he wondered what their intentions were, thinking of how they treated him, how they helped him. "Do they really care for me? Or am I just a burden for them?" he wondered. What if they do this entire thing just to manipulate him later on? No. He quicklypushed the thought out of his mind. They are too kind to do something like that.

At that moment Ratchet and Clank walked in,ready to take Michaelangelo back to their apartment.

"What's that? Do you think someone might come to attack you?" Ratchet asked, smirking.

Michaelangelo smirked back. "Yep, you guys are pretty dangerous."

"Do you know how to use those?" Clank asked, curiously studying the axes. "Those weapons look pretty advanced."

"Of course! How do you think I survived all this time? I may suck at using firearms, but at least I know how to defend myself."

This caught Ratchet by surprise. "You want to tell me that you survived that long without ever using a firearm?"

"Yes. Of course the others used guns and stuff - especially Mary." Personally he blamed them for his lack in skill with firearms - they never allowed him to use one, saying that those were their weapons, that he already knew how to defend himself. But no matter how hard you train, you can never completely dodge bullets. He was guilty himself, though - he had many opportunities to practice in secret, but he never did. Mostly because he grew a kind of hatred towards firearms - he could never imagine himself holding a gun like one of the other teenagers, acting like bloodthirsty, or rather metal thirsty barbarians as they thought those robots. He would rather die.

At that moment robots streamed into the garage, firing wildly as they charged towards them. Ratchet quickly overturned a workbench, the others following him as he took cover behind it.

"There are at least twenty of them!" Michaelangelo shouted as waves of bolts flew over their heads.

Clank quickly scanned the area. "And there is a lot more outside!"

Ratchet surveyed the area from behind the table. Tools and bits were scattered all over the floor, some of the windows were broken and pieces of plaster were on the floor. The bolts rapidly increased as the robots continued streaming in, trying to surround them.

He took the two combustors he had with him and started firing back."Looks like we have no choice but to try and move outside." Ratchet said, clenching his jaw."It seems that they are blocking our way out - can you believe it? Those idiots are destroying my garage!"

He fired some of his own shots, trying to hit a robot but failing. "We need to act quickly, before thy surround us!"

Clank threw a fusion grenade, sending pieces of metal flying as it exploded. "If we want any chance of survival we need to get out of here, now!"

Ratchet sighs. "Michaelangelo, are you sure you don't know how to use a firearm?"

"Yes."Clank noticed how Michaelangelo's face was snow white. "Don't worry, we will be ok." He placed a reassuring hand on Michaelangelo's shoulder. "I know."

Ratchet observed the robots for a moment. "Michaelangelo, you move out and cut us a way through. I will defend you from behind. Clank, try to contact the Rangers. We need them ASAP!"

He gripped the axes tighter, his sweaty hands shaking. "On the count of three. One; two; three!"

Ratchet moved away from the table, firing at the robots as he moved forwards. But to his dismay, Michaelangelo still crouched behind the table. "What are you waiting for?!" Ratchet shouted over his shoulder.

The robots moved forward, firing on Ratchet - he screamed in agony, sinking to his knees. Streaks of sharp, fiery pain shot through his his teeth, he stole a quick glance at his leg – blood gushed out the wound as Ratchet felt his heartbeat increase. "Aaaargh!"

The cry of agony sounded in Michaelangelo's ears,forcing him to move his heavy legs. He felt angry at himself for letting Ratchet get hurt, cutting through the robots as Ratchet shot with one hand, the other gripping the wound.

He got fired on himself. One of the bolts bruised his left arm, making him want to faint as the pain shot through his arm. But this only angered him. He let his rage explode on the robots, crushing one's head into pieces. He threw his weight against another, causing other robots to fall as it moved towards the ground. Now there was a small path through which they could escape! He gripped a robot by its neck, pulling it backwards as he moved towards the entrance, using it as a shield. "Get out of here, quickly!"

Ratchet continued firing on the robots as Clank threw another fusion grenade, trying to keep their escape route open. He frantically tried to get outside, his limp greatly slowing him down .Clank took cover behind him, wildly throwing fusion grenades in any direction.

They finally managed to get outside. They took cover behind an old, rusted ship that stood right outside the workshop.

"I'm sorry for getting you hurt!" Michaelangelo said, peaking at the robots from behind the ship.

"Next time I say go. You go!" Ratchet snapped at him.

"I know. I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. "Will you be ok?"

"Don't worry, it's not that bad."

"It is! How will you be able to continue? You may die in this battle, and I will not be able to forgive myself if that happens!" he exclaimed, a note of hysteria in his voice.

"Don't worry, Ratchet will not die," Clank said as he hopped off Ratchet's back. "I am sure we will find a way to survive this."

"Besides, the wound isn't that bad" Ratchet added, moving his hand away so that they could see.

Michaelangelo felt in no way better, seeing the blood oozing out of the wound. He was still afraid that they might die, that he may lose them.

The robots continued firing on them, trapping them behind the ship.

"It seems we may have a problem" Clank said, pointing their attention to the hordes of robots storming towards them. Luckily, the other Galactic Rangers arrived. Captain Qwark, Brax, Cora and Alaris quickly fired on the robots as they moved toward the trio.

"What happened?" Brax asked, sending some wild shots as they all hid behind the boulder. "We are ambushed by these robots" Clank replied.

"It looks like they are retreating!" Alaris said.

"We cannot let them get away! Come, Comrades, let us show these robots what we're made of!" Captain Qwark said, charging forwards as the rest joined him.

…..

He watched from behind the ship's windscreen, studying the battle that unfolded below him. His only goal was to annihilate the boy. But, to his surprise, a lombax and a robot joined him.

A female voice caught his attention from behind, "So the idiot made some friends?"

"Yes. But the bastard is playing into my hands."

He tried to lure him out of the garage, making it easier and less messy to get rid of him. He sent only a few robots, knowing that if he survives, he would definitely move outside. After that he sent over fifty robots to finish the job. "Let's see how Michaelangelo and his friends survive that."

But the Galactic Rangers arrived, quickly destroying the robots. "No! How did they get here?!" he exclaimed, bringing his fist down on the table in a fit of anger.

"I was right – you are too stupid to get rid of him!" the female mocked him, silently laughing at his failure as she grinned.

"It was not a matter of stupidity," another male voice suddenly said, moving towards the windscreen. "It seems that the boy befriended one of those Rangers."

He regarded both of them, and then moved toward the windscreen. "Let the robots retreat to that old building. They can plant a bomb before retreating back to us".

…..

The group followed the remaining robots to an abandoned building. Ratchet took the time to talk to Michaelangelo, keeping space between them and the rest of the group so that no one may hear their conversation. "What happened back there?"

Michaelangelo sighed. "I had a hard time getting myself to move."

Ratchet stared at him. "Why? What kept you back?"

"Those robots reminded me a lot of the zoni…" Michaelangelo trailed off.

"And?"

"In the past people said they would 'defend me from behind', but they ended up disappearing as I got almost killed".

Ratchet wanted to kick himself for having felt so angry when that happened. "Well I can promise you that we will never abandon you or get you killed," Ratchet said, smiling at him. "We will never leave you behind." This was the moment that Michaelangelo realised that they really only wanted to help him. They had no bad intentions after all.

Michaelangelo smiled back.

They stood in front of the abandoned building. The holes in the walls and the broken window allowed them to see inside. There were strange liquids in containers, metals and other materials that stood on shelves. "Be careful, guys- some of those liquids are acidic and very dangerous" Alarissaid, looking through a window with squinted eyes.

One by one they entered, slowly moving as they studied their surroundings. There was an eerie silence – it was just too silent. Michaelangelo moved to the centre of the building, hoping that he may get a better view.

Clank suddenly called out, "We have to get out of here! There's a bomb in here! "

They all ran quickly for the exit. Michaelangelo fell over an empty container, slowing him down – and to make it worse, he was the furthest from the exit. Fear gripped his heart as he stared at the exit – he was not going to make it.

…..

Qwark quickly checked to see if everybody is out."Brax, Cora, Alaris, Ratchet, Clank… where is the boy?"

Ratchet's eyes widened – he quickly looked towards the building, hoping that Michaelangelo made it out in time.

But he was too late.

The building collapsed as fire engulfed it, violent explosions following. Ratchet sank to his knees, burying his head in his hands.

Everyone moved closer to the building, staring sympathetically at Ratchet. "I promised he would not let him die, promised that I will never leave him behind - how could I let this happen?"

Alaris put her hand on his shoulder as they all silently bared the pain with him.

Clank thought he saw a figure moving towards them – did he imagine it?

The figure came closer, grabbing everybody's attention. Ratchet jumped towards him, realising what is happening. But when he saw Michaelangelo, he stopped.

He fell before them, his body completely changing form.

Whew! This chapter took me some time since I had to learn to write action scenes. A big thanks goes to the Writers Anonymous forum for their constant help and advice, and to sueb262 for betaing my story !


	5. Chapter 5

**Time for another chapter! I apologize for taking so long. A small case of writer's block, seasonal festivities and a lot of chores kept me a little busy. I hope you guys enjoy this one!**

 **Chapter 5**

A sharp smell fills Michaelangelo's nose as he gains consciousness. Groaning, his eyes meet the sight of the warm sunlight pouring through the window behind the bed, lighting the room and giving the room a comfortable pushes the thick hospital blanket to the side, sitting up on the bed.

There isn't much in this room. He admires the heart monitor as it tracks his heart rate with slow, clear beeps. Human heart monitors were linked to the patient with long, white wires - however these monitors wirelessly track the patient's heart rate, showing related data and statistics on a screen against the wall. He thinks of how patients on Earth must have been cluttered with wires and tubes. Here, everything is organized. There are no wires and tubes, no falling machines and medicine stands when you try to move. This makes him wonder – what other technologies can be found here? What machines and tools are hidden within these walls? Even though Michaelangelo came across pretty advanced technology in his constant running from that Zoni, these kinds of technologies never cease to amaze him.

A vase with alien purple flowers stands graciously on the bedside table, reminding him that he is not home - but, then again, home itself feels alien to him. For years he was on the run, going from one place to another, having nowhere to call home. Earth still lies in ruins on this very moment; over-polluted and covered in the ashes of the once-majestic cities, there was no way they could go back there; no way for them to survive. Besides, he has never been there. Neither him nor any of the other teenagers were born anywhere near Earth. Does that mean that it does not belong to him, that it is not a part of who he is? The humans were the ones to colonize it after all.

Does he have any home then, any place that he can call his own?

Yes, he has Ratchet and Clank. These last few months they have gone out of their way to help him, to take care of him. But does that mean that they actually care? Maybe they just help him because they feel obliged to. Yes, they are friendly and kind to him, but does it mean they care for him?

Does it mean they love him?

He frowns at himself. What does it matter if they love him? It's not like they are his parents or something. Why should he then care if they have any love for him? Besides, he cannot expect them to love him the way he loves them. To him they are like brothers. Not one day goes by that he cannot help but admire them. He cannot help but stand amazed when he sees their good qualities, their care-filled nature. Oh, how he longs to be a part of them; how he longs to joke and laugh with them as they do with one another.

But he knows he can't. He is an outsider. Besides, he doesn't know how to do that anyways.

He notices a long, light brown table in front of the bed. The smell of medicine fills the air, making him feel suffocated. His mouth has a foul taste – probably because he was unconscious fora long time.

How long has he been unconscious, then?

Trying to stand on his feet, he falls to the ground. He freezes as he tries to push himself up, greeted by the shocking sight of his hands. Brown-striped orange fur covers his arms, hiding any trace of skin. Adrenaline courses through his veins as the realisation of his new form hits him. Angst and fear fills his body, making him feel energy-less as his heart rate leaves the monitor shrieking wildly. Pain makes him aware of something else – he shifts his weight, revealing a brown-striped, arrow-like tail. Staring at it in disbelief, many questions arise in his thoughts.

 _What happened to me? Is this some dream or hallucination?_

He grabs hold of the tail. _No, this is too real_.

His hands wander to his head. He can feel two sensitive appendages in place of his human ears. The noise hurts his now sensitive ears, a sensation he is unused to. He looks at his hands again.

 _Have I turned into Ratchet somehow?_

His suspicion is wiped away as Ratchet and Clank rush into the room. They stop before him, both of them giving a sigh of relief. Ratchet smiles down at him. "Hey, Buddy, How are you feeling?"

Michaelangelo groans. "Am I hallucinating or am I really a Lombax?"

Clank laughs. "Yes, you are. The chemicals in that old building caused a chemical reaction when that bomb exploded. It must have reacted with Ratchet's DNA, causing this change in form."

"So I have Ratchet's DNA in me?"

"Yes. Unfortunately,the transformation is incomplete – this poses many problems."

Michaelangelo's mouth drops open. "It's still busy?"

Ratchet speaks up. "Yes. One of the clearly noticeable areas is your length. You are too long for a Lombax."

Ratchet crouches before Michaelangelo, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ok?"

Michaelangelo smiles at him. "Yes, I just can't seem to be able to walk".

"It must be the tail," Clank says.

"I don't understand how suddenly having a tail can make it hard for me."

"A tail is an extension of your spine. Your bones are now arranged differently, so walking wouldn't be the same. Seeing that you never had a tail, you will now have to get used to having one."

"Here, let me help you up." Michaelangelo holds onto Ratchet's hands, trying to keep his balance.

"How do you do it?"

"What, walking?"

"Yes. How do you use your tail to keep your balance?"

Ratchet laughed. "I don't. A tail has its own mind, it counters every move." Letting go of Michaelangelo's hands, he continued, "I mean, I can control its movements, but I don't have to do it when I move around. Try it out."

Michaelangelo gave a few slow steps forwards. "I see what you-"

His words get interrupted by a sudden fall. The trio laughs as Ratchet helps him up again. "Don't worry, you will get it right"

"I hope so."

Clank walks up to Michaelangelo. "Are you sure you are ok with all of this?"

He nodded. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." But he was lying – inside he felt like an emotional wreck; he felt lost in the hopelessness and darkness that once again clouded his mind. Even while they laughed he could not help but feel lost and scared. Stress filled his body, making him feel weak.

"Well, I must admit that I think you are lying. Your ears are drooping – something that I have learned from Ratchet to be a sign of sadness, fear or angst, and even pain. Your tail are swishing – a sign of worry or irritation. You are also panting a lot – another sign of distress."

Michaelangelo sighs. Everything is different now – not only is lying harder, the kind of words used to describe his actions are now different too. Panting - how will he ever get used to this?

"You are right. What I feel is too hard to describe."

…..

The Markazanian doctor slowly checks Michaelangelo, placing his scope here and there, and having him breathe specifically and do other weird stuff.

"Everything seems fine. No problems so far."

The doctor moves to the tables in front of the bed to prepare a needle from a new tray he has placed there. "Now all that is left is to take some blood- and DNA samples." The doctor looks up at him. "You can ask questions, if you have any."

Michaelangelo is surprised by this. Yes, he had a lot of questions, but he did not expect the doctor to invite him to ask about the things he wanted to know.

He sighs. "Why is the transformation not complete?"

The doctor gently takes hold of Michaelangelo's arm, slowly injecting the needle into the wincing half-Lombax. "Your appearance was mostly affected because the chemical reaction came into contact with that part of your body first. From that we are able to determine that the substance made contact to your upper body, seeing that your lower body has made less progress," he says, removing the needle and moving back to the tray. "From our tests we were able to determine that the transformation was quite fast right after the explosion; however, its speed slowed down quickly afterwards. Because of that, some areas of your appearance and most of your organs still have to transform."

The doctor removes his glove. "Everything seems fine. You're good to go!"

Michaelangelo slides off the bed, rubbing his arm where the doctor injected the needle. "Medication isn't required right now, lucky for you," the doctor continued, "but you will have to be precautions. Always be aware of any changes in your body. If anything seems to be wrong, check with Ratchet to see if it's normal for a Lombax. It may get… personal, but you will have to do it either way."

A thought jumps into Michaelangelo's mind. "But Ratchet, isn't it too long?"

He laughs. "Yes, Doctor, I'll do that."

"I told Ratchet and Clank to contact me the moment things seem to be wrong. You should do the same. Once a week we will take some samples and check to see if the progress is doing fine so far. You are lucky Lombaxes and humans have an identical consumption system, otherwise you would have had a hard time adjusting. "

The doctor hands Michaelangelo a form. "Now you just have to sign yourself out there by the reception, and then you can go home. Ratchet and Clank will be waiting for you outside."

Michaelangelo signs out by the reception and heads out, searching for the duo. It didn't take long to spot them – the blue and orange-accented ship is parked close to the entrance.

He hops in. "So, what did the doctor say?" Ratchet asks as the ship took off.

"Nothing much."

They fly to their home in silence. Crystal-clear memories play off in his mind – the ambush; the robots firing wildly on them; how Ratchet got hurt because of him. But nothing hurts as much as that of which he has come to realize.

He tries to keep back the tears. He hates crying; he does not like the idea of pestering people with his problems. HE hates crying in front of the duo even more – how humiliated and ashamed it makes him feel!

"Michaelangelo, are you ok?" Clank asks, noticing how he tightly grips the seat.

He barely utters the words as silent tears starts rolling down his cheeks. "The humans are now extinct."

…..

He slowly plays through the recording, closely studying it with an expressionless face. He did not see that coming; he did not expect Michaelangelo to survive that explosion. Anger boils up in him – how could he not see it coming? How is it that he was unable to predict that those chemicals would have triggered a change of form instead of killing it?

He effortlessly hides his anger under a mask of patience as she enters the room. No need for anyone to see his true self. "Michaelangelo is now a half-Lombax."

"Wow, I thought you were the only sane person among us, but I guess I was wrong."

"Don't mock me," he said, slowly pointing to the screen. "Look at what happens when he comes out of the explosion."

She moves closer to the screen, narrowing her eyes as she studied the scene that unfolded on the screen. "Wow, so the bastard is still alive?"

"Yes."

Someone else enters the room, rushing towards them.

"Guess what? I just found a way to get rid of that stupid Lombax!"

"Make that two," she corrected him, pointing to the screen. "The little bastard survived our onslaughts again."

He frowns at this. How did he do it? How is it that he once again outfoxed them?

He shrugs it off. "That won't be a problem anymore. I've found that a certain Cragmite, the Emperor Tachyon, has been trying to destroy all Lombaxes. If we can join forces with him-""

Peter finishes his sentence. "Then hello dead Michaelangelo."

"We will probably have to give him a cut of the inheritance once Michaelangelo is dead." She said.

"Yes. When he's dead, his inheritance will finally be ours!"

…..

Michaelangelo stands naked in front of the bathroom mirror, slowly taking in every detail of his new form. Brown stripes cover his new ears, his shoulders, his arms, his ribs, his legs and even his tail. His orange fur is lighter around his stomach and nose. His arms and legs appear to be shorter. The sight of his feet makes him shiver – his shrunk toes are still visible whilst his Lombax claws have already started growing, giving a gruesome picture to those that dare look at it. Then there are other parts…

He quickly climbs into the bath, soaking his body in the hot, steamy water. The experience is completely new to him – never before has he taken a bath with fur covering his body.

"Uhm, Michaelangelo?" Ratchet said, lightly knocking on the closed door. "I forgot to tell you, you're not supposed to wash with soap. It will mess your fur up. Use conditioner instead."

"Thanks, I'll do that!"

He lies back, sinking deeper into the soothing water, closing his eyes as he rest his head against the bath tub.

 _Is this true? Is this the reality I am trapped in?_

He opens his eyes, steam from the water making him feel tired. Only now does he become aware of how exhausted he feels. He closes his eyes again.

 _Maybe I should rest for a while._

…..

"Wow, did you fall asleep in there?"

Michaelangelo plops down onto the couch, still drying himself with a towel. "Yes, I actually did."

Ratchet laughs. "Don't try too hard to dry yourself. You will have to wait for your fur to dry by itself."

Michaelangelo's hand falls onto his lap as it still holds onto the towel. He stares down at it, frowning. "Adapting to this new form is hard." He shakes his head. "How will I ever get used to this?"

"I am sure that you will be able to adapt. We will be there to help you," Clank says, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Michaelangelo sighs, staring at his feet. A sudden giggle escapes his mouth. "Just look at these feet. They're so revolting!"

"Haha yeah. Hopefully the transition will be finished soon," Ratchet says, shaking his head as he looks at Michaelangelo's feet.

Clank curiously studies Michaelangelo's face. "I am surprised to see you laughing at yourself. I expected you to be terrified of your form."

"I am afraid and anxious, and I do miss my old self a lot, but I am used to this in a way. I mean, it's not like a sixth finger or something like that suddenly appearing. Isn't Ratchet a Lombax?"

"Ahh, I see exactly what you mean."

They sit in silence for a moment, watching the show on the TV.

"Copycat."

Michaelangelo looks at Ratchet. "What?"

"You're a copycat. You even go as far as trying to look like me. I know you are obsessed with me, but you really shouldn't have gone this far."

Michaelangelo playfully punch Ratchet on his shoulder, his mouth opened wide as Ratchet squinted, laughing at Michaelangelo's reaction.

"I am not a copycat!"

Ratchet continues to tease Michaelangelo. "Oh yes you are. And you're a bad one too – just look at those feet!"

The trio laughs together, wiping away the tears as they fall from their eyes.

"What makes you think you are worthy of having Michaelangelo obsessed with you?" Clank asks, playfully pointing at Ratchet.

"Yeah, you're not worth of such an honour!"

"Wait, you guys actually think it is an honour to know you're," he points at Michaelangelo, "obsessed with me?" Now I know for a fact that you two are crazy!"

"We follow in your footsteps," Clank said, making them laugh again.

"Ratchet takes turns to eye both of them. "Oh no, you two aren't actually surrounding me, are you? Do you guys know what I do to people that surrounds me?"

"Rip them a new one?" Michaelangelo asks, hinting on Ratchet's favorite weapon, the RYNO.

Ratchet sits back with his hands behind his head. "Exactly."

Michaelangelo grins, shaking his head. "You guys know exactly how to cheer someone up."

…..

"I cannot believe the dimensionator's boy still lives!" the Cragmite hollered. "He's supposed to be dead!"

"We agree," she said, still kneeling before Tachyon out of respect. "We want him dead just as badly as you do."

Tachyon paced up and down before his throne, rubbing his chin. The boy could not help but notice how small this grey creature are – and hideous. How can it be that he is so dangerous? Apparently everyone in the Polaris galaxy is dead afraid of him!

She cannot help but smile at how comedic Tachyon looks – with his high-pitched voice, tiny red garment, weird looking mouth, cat-like yellow eyes and his diaper-like pants, no one can help but laugh. Well, no one except her.

He turned to the trio.

"I take it you want me to help you get rid of the pest?"

"Yes. We have countless warbots and many warships to our disposal, but it's just not enough to get rid of the bastard that is accompanying Ratchet."

Tachyon lifts an eyebrow.

"You see, a cousin of ours has a big inheritance," he said. "Let's just say it is worth a lot to us."

Tachyon smiled at this. "I am sure I can help you get rid of the pests that haunts you. For a price."

He smiled at this - he expected Tachyon to request a fee in exchange for his help.

"We will divide the inheritance between the four of us."

Tachyon hid a greedy smile. "Then we have a deal."

He sat on his throne. "So, tell me more of this boy you are trying to get rid of."

"Well, he was human, but recently turned into a Lombax. And he has no idea of the riches that belongs to him."

Tachyon smiled again. "I have sent spies to monitor their every move. The Galactic Rangers may be powerful, but we have one advantage: the element of surprise. Make sure your warbots are ready for attack at all times. We must attack them when they least expect it."

 **I hope you guys enjoyed that!**

 **Before I forget, I stumbled upon this amazing forum, "Fandom United" ( forum/Fandom-Nation/197804/) – a place where people can discuss and ask questions about the various fandoms that exists here on ffnet. Although it is not very popular, it is still an amazing place. Feel free to take a look!**

 **Review, favourite, follow?**


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